(Darry's POV)

"We got a problem," Tim said right before the door slammed behind him. He glanced at all of us before setting his eyes on me. "I think our brothers are in trouble."

Hearing Tim's words, it felt like I got hit by a truck. Christ, not only is Ponyboy in trouble, but somehow Curly Shepard is involved. This can't be good. Steve cursed, Two-Bit sucked in a breath, and Soda looked like a deer in the headlights.

"What do you mean?" I asked after I regained my composure and could think clearly. "Where are they?"

Tim huffed out a breath and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Last I heard, they were headed to Soc territory."

"What?!" I shouted. Most people wouldn't even think about raising their voice at Tim, but I wasn't worried; he and I had an unspoken understanding and we never fought. Sure, we disagreed a lot of the time, but I was comfortable saying whatever I wanted because I knew Tim wasn't about to try anything with me, especially not in my own house with the guys there.

"Yeah, Tony told me Curly's looking for revenge, and apparently your kid brother's with him," Tim explained.

Soda shook his head, finally his shook wearing off. "No way. No way Pony's helping Curly with some stupid revenge mission." I wanted to agree with Soda, to convince Tim that he was wrong, but since Pony was nowhere to be found, I had a sick feeling Tim was telling us the truth.

"Well you can believe or not, but it don't change the fact my guys saw Curly driving a hot car towards the other side of town, and Ponyboy was with him," Tim shot back. So not only is he telling us that Ponyboy is with Curly in Soc territory, but they stole a car too? This is going from bad to worse.

"What did the Socs do to Curly anyway?" Steve asked harshly. "Why's he got it out for them?"

Tim glanced at Steve, and it looked like he thought about rolling his eyes. "Glory, what is it with you guys and the hundred questions?" When nobody answered, he spoke quickly and irritably. "Last time I was locked up, some Socs messed with my car and jumped some of my guys. Curly apparently took it personally and decided to go after them."

"And he brought Ponyboy with him," I reiterated.

Tim nodded. "Right, so you gonna come with me to find them? It is our kid brothers that got in this mess after all."

Soda took a step towards Tim, looking more upset than ever. "Ponyboy's my brother too."

I put a hand on Soda's shoulder, hopefully stopping him from starting anything with Tim. "Soda," I said in a warning tone. When my brother looked at me, I spoke before he could say anything. "Take the truck and bring Steve and Two-Bit with you. I'll go with Tim."

Soda still looked mad, but he nodded. "Alright. We'll start on the north side and work our way south." Then Soda pushed past Tim to rush out of the house, and Steve and Two-Bit immediately followed.

I looked at Tim. "Let's go."

I had no idea how long we had been driving around town trying to find our brothers, but as time ticked by, I could tell that Tim was getting anxious, even though he tried to hide it. The hard look on his face was unwavering, but I could tell by the way he fidgeted in the driver's seat that he was probably thinking of worst case scenarios, just like I was.

"You know, since the last time he was in the reformatory, Curly's been doin' better," Tim suddenly said. I looked at him, trying to figure out where he was going with his train of thought, but I stayed silent as I turned to look out the window, hoping to find a glimpse of Ponyboy. Tim continued, apparently not caring that I didn't reply. "He ain't a saint, none of us are, except you and your brothers I guess, but he hadn't run into the cops as much."

"What did you just say?" I asked, stunned to hear Tim say any of that. "You think we're saints?"

"Don't give me that humble shit, Curtis. Even before you became man of the house, you had your head on straight and didn't get into any trouble," Tim said almost bitterly.

"You obviously don't know why Pony ran off last year," I muttered. Once again, I relived the horrible moment I hit my brother, and the guilt was overwhelming.

Tim let out an irritated breath, and I wondered what exactly I was doing that was making him so frustrated. "If you're talking 'bout layin' a hand on your kid brother, I know about it."

I sighed and refused to look at him. "Then you know I'm not a saint."

Tim waved his hand in the air, like hitting my brother meant absolutely nothing. "You ain't the first person to smack their brother around, some parents do it even worse. Hell, sometimes Curly and I get into it, and I ain't exactly in charge of him." Tim paused as he turned a corner, then he continued. "Your whole gang ain't like the rest of us, but you and your brothers especially."

I glanced at Tim before continuing to silently search the streets for my brother. In a way, I was proud that Tim understood we were nothing like him and his gang, but it was such a strange thing for Tim of all people to say, and I had no response that felt worthy enough to verbalize. Tim and I weren't exactly friends anyway, so I wasn't sure what he wanted me to say.

"Look," Tim continued, apparently not finished talking. "I know what you probably think of my brother, but he's just a kid, just like Ponyboy. I know what he's done, but he was tryin' real hard until the Socs messed with us."

I was confused why Tim was telling me all of this, but then a thought occurred to me, which made me smirk a little. "Tim, are you worried I'm going to skin your brother or something?"

Tim glanced at me, then seeing my expression, he grinned. "The thought has crossed my mind." Then he returned his sights on the road. "I ain't stupid. I know that whatever happened, it was Curly that somehow dragged your brother into this… and if I was in your shoes, I'd want to beat the shit out of anyone who put my brother such in a stupid situation."

I was surprised that Tim Shepard, one of the most notorious hoods from our side of town, was so protective over his brother, who was also a real hood. I always thought Tim treated his brother like the other guys in their gang, but I guess when Curly might be in real trouble, Tim's true feelings come to the surface.

I went back to looking out the window of Tim's car. "I just want to find them, that's all I'm thinking about right now." But after the dust settles, I might need to have a chat with Curly Shepard for getting Ponyboy involved.

We continued driving in silence for a little while longer, and when we turned a corner in a sparsely-populated neighborhood, Tim suddenly swore. "Shit."

I looked forward and spotted a black car that was turned almost completely sideways in the middle of the street a couple blocks ahead of us, effectively blocking the entire road. Since it was dark out, the illuminated streetlight above the vehicle was the only reason I could see the broken glass glittering on the road. "Is that the car Curly was driving?" I asked, not entirely sure what answer I was hoping for.

"Yeah, he stole it from one of the Brumly Boys," Tim said. I felt my eyebrows rise. Curly stole a car from the Brumly Boys, then used that car to go into Soc territory? Tim must've sensed my shock, because he added, "Tony said it was so the Socs wouldn't recognize the car." I nodded, but neither of us said anything after that.

Tim parked his car close to the stolen black car, and under the streetlight, I noticed someone on the ground, slumped with their back against the car. Pony! Tim and I rushed towards the car, and my heart dropped to see that it wasn't my brother, it was Curly.

Judging by the state that he was in, I wasn't sure if I should've been happy or disappointed that it wasn't my brother on the ground. Curly's lip and nose had blood dripping from them, there was a large cut on his upper arm that was bleeding really bad, and overall, he looked really rough. He had obviously been in a fight, and since his eyes were closed, he must've been banged up good enough to knock him out.

"Curly," Tim said as he crouched down to the ground and put his hands on Curly's shoulders, shaking him roughly. "Wake up."

Wake up and tell me where Pony is, I thought as I stood there, looking around for any sign of my brother. Maybe he went into that church to hide.

Curly groaned, and after a few seconds, he opened his eyes. "Tim?" He blinked a couple more times, then he put a hand on the gash in his arm, wincing from pain. "Hey, nice to see ya."

Tim put a hand on top of Curly's head and moved his brother's head around so he could look him in the eye. "You alright?"

Curly nodded, then he started to stand up, but just when he got to his feet, he stumbled. Luckily, Tim caught him and helped him lean against the car. "My leg… I think something's busted."

"Where's Ponyboy?" I demanded, not able to be patient anymore. Curly's alive and we have him, but where's my brother?

Curly must've not noticed me at first, because he flinched at my words. "Pony? He's here somewhere," Curly said as he looked around like I must've missed my brother lying on the ground somewhere. A moment later, something must've popped into his mind because he eyes snapped up to meet mine. "He was on the other side…" he trailed off as he turned his head to look over the car. "Pony?"

I turned and strode over to the other side of the car, and the scene in front of me immediately made me want to scream and cry and vomit all at once.

Pony was lying face-down on the ground, blood and glass scattered underneath him. There was a cut on the right side of his head that had stopped bleeding at some point, dark marks and more cuts littered his skin, his knuckles were split and bloody, and what scared me the most was that his eyes were closed and I couldn't tell if he was breathing.

"Ponyboy!" I shouted, immediately dropping to the ground next to my baby brother. I put my fingers on his neck, and after a few gut-wrenching seconds, I felt a faint heartbeat. Thank God, he's breathing. I gently put my hand on his cheek and tapped it, ignoring the twisting pain in my gut for hitting Pony's face, even though it was extremely gentle. That's in the past, Darry. You're not hitting him. "Pony, wake up."

To my dismay, he didn't stir. I felt my heart start racing as I looked down at my brother lying motionless. "Come on, Pone. Wake up kiddo," I said softly.

Still not getting a response from Ponyboy, I turned him over onto his back so I could look for any major injuries. There were some blood spots on his clothes, but I couldn't tell if all of them were from his blood, or if he managed to hurt any of his attackers. Before I could check his ribs or anything, his breathing got ragged, then it got really shallow. I started panicking, not knowing what I could possibly do to help Ponyboy.

"He ain't waking up?" I heard Tim ask from somewhere nearby.

I turned and found the Shepard brothers standing near me, Curly still using the car for balance. I shook my head. "No, and he looks real bad. I need to-" I stopped when I saw that Tim and Curly were being illuminated by some other light. I turned around and was suddenly blinded by bright headlights. Instinctively, I moved so I was between the car and my injured brother in case the car didn't see us.

Suddenly, the lights turned off and I heard a familiar voice shout. "Pony!" Before I knew it, Soda had run up and knelt on the ground next to me. "Wake up honey," Soda pleaded as he shook Pony's shoulder. "Please Pony, wake up baby."

"What the hell happened?" I heard Two-Bit shout as Soda and I kept trying to rouse our brother.

"The Socs followed us," Curly started, but he was cut off by an even angrier voice.

"Yeah because you were a dumbass and provoked them!" Steve shot back.

"Darry, is he breathing?" Soda asked, his voice shaking. "Please tell me he's breathing."

I studied Ponyboy, and after a few seconds, I didn't see his chest rise or fall. I started shaking and hyperventilating. This can't be happening. I can't lose him; I can't lose my brother too. I turned my head and put my ear against his chest, and right as the tears started forming in my eyes, I heard his lungs weakly take in air, and his heart was still beating. I looked at Soda, who had already started sobbing. "He's alive Soda, but we have to get him out of here."

Before Soda could respond, I put my arms underneath my near-lifeless youngest brother and picked him up. The way his body was completely limp made my heart ache. He felt like such a small child in my arms, and I was immediately reminded of all the times I picked him up throughout our lives: Pony as a baby, as a small child who fell asleep on the couch, and even the year before when we drove home form the hospital and he fell asleep in the truck. Ever since he was born, I was Ponyboy's protector, and I never felt more responsible and more helpless than I did at that moment. With the guys and the Shepards watching me hold my injured kid brother, I forced myself to refrain from completely breaking down. I wasn't there when he needed me. I didn't prevent this. My little brother's hurt, and I didn't do anything to stop it. With Pony's blood seeping into my clothes, I continued listening to his lungs exchange air and his heart beat, dreading the moment both sounds would possibly stop.

"Alright, there's seven of us, and the two kids need to go to the hospital," Two-Bit started. "We only have two cars… how we gonna do this?"

"You guys go ahead. I gotta do something first," Curly said, attempting to sound tough, even though he was still using the car to remain upright. "Get him outta here." Tim gave Curly a look, but I didn't have time to ask Curly what he was talking about or worry about the Shepards at all; I had my own priorities to take care of, and I knew they'd take care of themselves just fine.

I gave Tim and Curly a curt nod before I walked towards the truck. Without a single word spoken, we quickly got ourselves situated in the truck. I brought Ponyboy to the bed of the truck, laid him down, and I sat with him. Soda joined me in the back and put Ponyboy's head on his lap, likely needing the physical contact to remind him that we found our brother alive. Soda kept himself busy by brushing Ponyboy's hair back and murmuring soft things that I hoped Pony could hear.

Steve went behind the wheel and Two-Bit sat in the passenger's seat, looking back at us once before speaking to Steve quiet enough that I'm sure he thought I wouldn't hear him. "Drive like Pony's life depends on it." My heart dropped. He's right, Pony's life might be hanging in the balance right now.

Suddenly, we were speeding towards the hospital.

The wind rushed past my ears as Steve likely broke every speed limit on the way to the hospital. Even though I doubted he could hear me, I leaned down to speak to my unconscious brother. "We're getting you some help, Pony." Soda readjusted so he was practically hugging our brother from behind, and he looked just as scared as when Ponyboy was missing for a week. I continued talking, praying that Ponyboy could hear me and that Soda believed me. "Hang in there, kiddo. You'll be okay soon."

When I saw the hospital, it felt like a miracle allowed us to made it, but as Steve drove towards the emergency department doors, Soda suddenly started freaking out. "Darry? Darry, he's not breathing!" Soda laid Pony flat and shook his shoulders. "Pony? Pony! Don't do this!"

I looked down at Pony, then put my ear to his chest, but before I could attempt to hear anything over Soda's sobbing, there was a commotion nearby, preventing me from hearing anything except several voices all at once. A few moments later, there were people opening the back of the truck. They were obviously medical professionals since they worse matching uniforms and brought a gurney with them, and behind them, Steve and Two-Bit were looking distressed.

"He was in a fight-" Steve started explaining, apparently already in a conversation with someone, but Soda quickly cut him off.

"He's not breathing!" Soda shouted and sobbed all at once. He kept shaking Ponyboy, but he looked at the medical staff, yelling at them. "He ain't breathing!"

I looked down at Ponyboy, and it felt like my heart shattered. He's not moving, he's not breathing. No, he can't be gone… he just can't be! Not my brother, please not Ponyboy. I scooped Ponyboy up in my arms, got down from the truck, and eased my little brother on the gurney that was waiting for him.

"We'll bring him-" the tallest man started saying, but I glared back at him. He was almost as tall as me, but his was smaller than me, so I knew I could take him if I needed to, and there was no way I was about to let them take my brother away without being there.

"I'm coming with," I said as I gripped the side of the gurney tight enough to turn my knuckles white. The tall man looked like he was about to argue with me, but he didn't get the chance.

"Let him be, Carl. We gotta get to the OR stat," the sole woman said to the tall man, who was apparently named Carl.

I gave her a nod, then Carl, the woman, and a short, stockier man all started rushing Ponyboy towards the emergency room doors. I glanced back, and I saw Soda still sobbing in the bed of the truck, Steve consoling him, and Two-Bit patting Soda's shoulder while he watched me and the medical team run towards the hospital doors. Two-Bit met my eyes and I hoped he understood what I said internally: keep an eye on Soda for me.

Once we went through the doors, I followed the lead of the medical staff as they ran down the hallways, but I kept my focus on my little brother. His eyes were closed, he wasn't moving, and in the bright lights of the hospital, his injuries were more apparent and looked even worse than before. Pony's pale skin was covered in blood, dirt, glass, and marks that were sure to turn into bruises. Oh my God, he looks awful.

Before I knew it, we approached doors that had large words on them that said "OR: STAFF ONLY." When we were right in front of the doors, we all stopped, and the woman that previously stood up for me looked across the gurney to speak directly to me. "This is as far as you can go. We got him from here."

I stared at her in disbelief. "But Ponyboy-"

"You can't go back there," the tall man, Carl, said. He stood next to me, wearing an expression that suggested he felt like the top authority figure in the room, and I wanted to wipe that smug look off his face. "Your brother needs surgery, and you can't be in there."

I must've let go of the gurney, because seconds later, Ponyboy was rushed through the doors, leaving me standing in the hallway all by myself. My feet were glued to the floor as I stared at the doors that were hiding my youngest brother. Tears fell down my cheeks, and I didn't have the energy to wipe them off my face.

Please save my brother.

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